Projects Being Razed, People Left Devastated

To outsiders, they are eyesores; they are nothing but dirty, un-kept brick buildings which house the poor or the criminally minded, lower, darker side of society. Housing projects house more that these negative stereotypes, they also give some of America’s most denied citizens a place to live outside of the nasty, sometimes dangerous streets they roam.

A new trend has been developing in Westchester County. Thanks to the recent attractiveness of the county that has helped lure the likes of the Clintons, Joe Torre and Vanessa Williams, the cost of properties in Westchester has gone up and its appeal is helping a lot of people profit.

This newly formed interest, while making some realtors and developers very rich, is making some of Westchester’s oldest residents quite nervous about their future in this county.

Two of the biggest cities in Westchester, Yonkers and New Rochelle, have seen proposals written up requesting the replacement of tenement housing, which officials and developers see has havens for crime and poverty, to replace them with new townhouses.

Particularly targeted in Yonkers is Mulford Gardens, the 550-unit apartment project that has been around since 1940 and in New Rochelle, officials are trying to replace the Hartley Houses which opened their doors in 1947 and have 240 units with 236 single and two-family houses.

“They are trying to push us out of out homes,” said Heather Ashford, a 17-year tenant of Mulford Gardens. “Not everyone who lives in the projects is a poor criminal; some of us have jobs we go to everyday.”City officials are trying to replace old public housing and in their place, they hope to insert townhouses which will serve both the citizens and the city’s economics positively. Those residing in the tenements would not simply be disregarded. Many living in the projects will have the opportunity to live in the new townhouses that would be built, but not all.

A percentage of the houses to be built will be set aside for those lower-income families that presently reside in the projects. Another percentage, however, will be put on the market for normal rates. This would be done in an attempt to diversify the area and in essence, enrich the neighborhoods.Much of this change is thanks to a Federal incentive known as HOPE VI, a program which grants cities $20 million to replace “superblock” projects. “Superblock” projects are those stereotypical, high-rises that span a few blocks. Virtually, they become cities within cities.

Today’s projects are synonymous with poor people, non-working minorities or government leeches that would rather collect welfare than find a job. Many residents are resentful of these images and are afraid that false stereotypes are going to be the cause of their losing their neighborhoods.

“People think that all we do is hang out, make noise and cause trouble,” said Kendra Wilkins of Hartley. “I graduated High School, I got an associates degree and I work! People need to do their research before they go and label others.”

Whether the residents of housing projects are contributing to society or not, the fact is their situations need to be addressed. It is understandable for City officials to want to change housing to better enrich the city. It is also understandable for those living in the projects to be nervous and upset that their homes might be razed and they might be forced to relocate.